Chapter 18: Chapter 18

KYA

I laugh as my mother tells me about Dec’s face while drinking hospital coffee. “He dumped it out?”

She sips her coffee and nods. “He didn’t even bother starting a new pot. I had to. But he did pour me a cup when it was ready, of course he made the same face when he tasted it.” I laugh again.

My Dad sits beside me. He gives me a kiss on the cheek. “Hey, Cricket. It’s good to have you back.”

I smile. “Thanks, dad. It’s good to be home.”

My mother’s perfect smile mirrors my father’s sentiment. Dad sips his coffee. “Are you aware that mate of yours is planning on upgrading the hospital?”

I’m dumbfounded. “I had no idea.”

Dad continues to drink his coffee. “He’s a good guy, good alpha. I work with him quite often. He always puts his packmates first. Just last week, he had a pretty nasty gash on his ribs and one on his shoulder.

“He didn’t even notice until we were on the way to the hospital for Pauly. I tossed him some gauze. Just to stop some of the bleeding.” Dad looks at my face, which, I’m sure, has a look of worry.

“Relax, Cricket. He wasn’t very bad off. I would have healed him if he needed it.”

I remember the conversation about a guard getting injured, but Dec never said anything about him getting hurt. I close my eyes and shake my head.

This worry is something I’ll have to live with for the rest of my life. I’m mates with the most amazing alpha there is. The stove timer beeps, getting my attention. I get up and grab a hot pad to pull the cookies out.

I scent Dec before he knocks at the door, even with the smell of the cookies. I rush to answer it, but stop just in front of the door to regain my composure. I open the door slowly. His beautiful smile greets me. “Hey, beautiful.”

I return his smile and allow him inside. He places a soft kiss on my lips as he walks into the kitchen. As I expect, he goes straight for a cookie. “Dec, those just…”

Too late. He hisses as the gooey hot cookie coats his hand. “Came out of the oven.”

He rinses his hand at the sink. I give him a towel, then look at his hand. “I’m fine, baby.” His hand is only slightly red.

I touch the back of his hand and release just the smallest amount of power. “You should know better by now.”

His silver eyes shine as he smiles at me. “I’ll never learn that. Your cookies are the best.” I roll my eyes. He kisses my temple, then joins my parents at the kitchen table.

“Doc, Mrs. Mason.” I give him a cup of black coffee. “Thanks Ky.” This scene is so familiar. The only thing missing is Chase.

Speak of the devil and the devil appears. Chase walks into the kitchen with Uncle Mark right behind him. Chase goes straight to the cookies and does the same thing Dec just did. I roll my eyes as he drops the cookie back on the baking sheet.

“They just came out.” Dec tells him.

Mom snorts, trying to hold in her laugh. “You guys are killing me. Haven’t you learned after all the times you’ve done that?”

Chase shakes his head. “Nope.”

I roll my eyes. “Where’s Lan?”

He grabs a chair and sits down. “She’s on her way with Finn and Bianca.” I place the cookies on the cooling rack and grab my coffee. I pull out the chair next to Dec.

He stops me and pulls me onto his lap. His arms wrap around me and I lean into his chest. His nose caresses my neck. His breath tickles my skin, sending tingles and chills throughout my body.

“~You fit in my lap perfectly~,” Dec mind-links me.

I smile and kiss his cheek. “~It’s comfortable~.” He grunts in reply.

“I’ll be right back, baby. I have to go get Damon,” Dec announces. I stand up to let him out. He eyeballs Chase with a mischievous grin, then smacks my butt. “Bye, baby.”

Chase rubs his eyes with the heel of his hands. “I’m going to go blind.” Everyone cracks up laughing. Dec kisses my cheek, grabs a cookie, and heads out.

Dad pulls meat out of the freezer. “I’ll barbecue tonight. You all go outside, it’s too crowded in here.”

Uncle Mark stands up. “I’m going to get back home. I have some things to discuss with Kendra.” He grabs a few cookies, gives hugs, then takes his leave.

“I hope they come to our pack. I already miss the pups and Aunt Kendra,” I say as I think about all the time playing with the pups and about Aunt Kendra being a shoulder to cry on.

~I have strong shoulders, good for crying on. ~Owen’s words enter my mind. Ugh, the jerk. I wonder what happened to him.

Alana, Bianca, and Finn meet us in the backyard soon, followed by Dec and Damon. We all stay outside laughing and enjoying the day. Mom and Dad leave us to hang out.

The sun begins setting. Dec, Chase, and Finn all have jobs to do. Finn is on guard duty tonight, while Dec and Chase do…who knows what. Dec kisses me. “Don’t wait up, love. I’ll be back late.”

I push my bottom lip out and give him my innocent look. He gently bites my lip, sending yummy shivers all over my body. “Don’t you look at me like that. I’ve got a whole pack to run.”

I know, but I want to keep him all to myself. “Fine. Run along and play. I’ll be in your bed, alone, waiting for you…”

"…~in panties and a white T-shirt~,” I finish my sentence through our link.

He grunts. “~Little minx. Don’t tease me. I’m still dying to mark you and mate with you.~” I bite my lip with a smile. He gives me another kiss then leaves, Chase and Finn following behind him.

Damon is left with three she-wolves; the poor guy. Alana is always considerate to anyone around her. She sees how uncomfortable he is. “Damon. If you don’t want to be around a bunch of she-wolves, the training room is always open.”

He gets up from his chair. “Thanks. I’ll go work out. Kya, I’ll send you a text before I head to your place.”

I wave him off. “That’s fine. You remember where it is?”

He waves. “Yeah, I’m good.”

“Oh, thank the Goddess,” Bianca says. “I thought I would never get a chance to be away from him and Finn.” She relaxes into the lounge chair.

“How are things with Finn?” Alana genuinely asks.

Bianca gets a bright smile on her face. “Oh, holy Goddess above, he is so hot. I can’t stop staring at him. He’s really sweet and we have a lot in common too.”

Alana and I swoon. “Aw…you’re so cute. Do you know which pack you’re going to pick?”

Bianca shakes her head. “It’s too early for that. I don’t even know when we’re going to mark and mate since I’m only seventeen. He said he’s going to come meet my parents on Monday. He took me to meet his family today.”

Finn has a little sister and his parents are both guards. Losing Finn would suck, but taking Bianca away from her brother and family would suck too. Especially since her brother is a beta.

DEC

Chase and I split up to check on the border guards. I finish my area then head to the training center. I hear weights being lifted and set back down. I figured he’d be here.

I cross my arms over my chest and watch as Damon pushes himself. He has 435 pounds on the military press. I walk up behind him, spotting him. He seats the bar then leans forward to wipe his sweat with a towel.

“Is there training in your pack?” I ask.

Damon shakes his head, then grabs a drink of water. “It’s voluntary, unless you’re a guard. They train once a week.”

I nod. “There’s one thing I wanted to mention. I didn’t say anything before because I wanted to see if you were serious. Working out and training isn’t going to be enough.

“It is important, but one thing I see is that you’re lacking is confidence. Your confidence dictates how powerful you are. I don’t mean become a cocky asshole, but know your strength. The most important thing about being the alpha is your pack. Your pack gives you your strength.”

I walk around the bar to sit on the bench across from him. “You stepping up for your pack is noble and selfless. You’ll have some that resist you, but they will come around as long as you put your pack first. Some may never come around.

“You’ll need to know when you have to cut ties after fair warning. I had to dismiss someone from my pack just two nights ago. It was my first time and it was one of the hardest, most uncomfortable things I’ve ever had to do.

“When I felt her connection to the pack break, there was an emptiness left over that she once filled. I worry for her safety and well-being, but I had to do it.” Damon nods his understanding.

I clap him on the shoulder. “I have confidence in you.”

Damon looks up to meet my eyes. I can see he’s searching for something. “Thanks, Alpha Redd.”

I hold my hand out. “It’s Dec to my friends.”

He subtly smirks. “Thanks, Dec.”

“~Dec! Get over here. Northwestern border~.”

Shit. “I gotta go. We have trouble.” I stand up in a rush.

“Dec, can I come?”

I look over my shoulder. “Yeah, let’s go.” I strip as I sprint, then change to my wolf. Damon is hot on my tail as we rush to the border.

I hear the snarls and howls before I reach the clearing. Seven large rogues are taking on Chase, Leon, and Ashley. For once, there are no pups.

I rip into the bastard closest to me. Damon jumps in to assist Leon, taking one out. Now the numbers are equal. I get the biggest of the rogues alone. He begins circling me.

I hear a whimper from Ashley. “~Shit, Alpha. I can’t get this guy. He’s trying to mount me, the sick fucker,~” she mind-links. I rush over to Ashley, leaving the big guy.

I rip the fucker away and claw his balls. He whimpers in pain. Ashley takes over handling him. The big guy takes advantage of my distraction and grabs me from behind. I spin on him. He backs away to the clearing, growling and showing his fangs.

I charge at him, only to have three more rogues sneak out of the bushes gunning straight for me. I know someone is going to get hurt. “~Doc, Kya, Bruno. I need you at the northwestern border right now.~” Bruno has the closest patrol to us.

Chase makes his way to me with a rogue on his tail. We go back-to-back while the five rogues circle us. Damon, Ashley, and Leon are taking on one rogue each. The five rogues charge at us at once.

Chase and I use all of our strength to battle these guys, but we’re severely at a disadvantage. I take a deep bite to my gut and a slash to the hind leg. Chase is bleeding from I don’t know where.

Bruno bursts through the clearing, landing on two rogues. I take another bite, this one on my shoulder.

That was too close; the fucker almost got my neck. Bruno takes out one of the rogues, but he’s bleeding, too. I get a grip on one rogue and slash his gut under me.

I hear a whimper. Leon falls to the ground. Dr. Mason reaches the clearing. He shoves the rogue away from Leon, but now he’s headed to Ashley. The wolf that lost his balls has Ashley by the shoulder.

Doc takes out the wolf that was heading for Ashley. Chase takes out another rogue. He grabs one of the three off of me. Damon takes out his wolf and assists Ashley. Doc is fighting a rogue.

Kya's wolf breaks into the clearing, and my heart races harder than ever before. A rogue notices her and rushes for her. I growl out and tear him apart. Bruno takes out another rogue. I spin on one chasing me and catch him off guard, ripping his throat out. Chase gets the last rogue and crushes down on his head. We all shift and lie down on the ground, trying to catch our breaths.

Dr. Mason shifts and gets to work on Leon. Kya shifts and rushes to my side. “Heal everyone else first,” I say.

She shakes her head and presses her hands to my abdomen. “You’re in the worst shape.” She spreads her fingers, and the warmth enters my belly, giving me instant relief.

When I feel well enough, I grab her wrists. “I’m good, love. Help the others.” She nods, then heads to Bruno, followed by Damon. Dr. Mason takes care of Chase and Ashley.

I get to my feet and locate our stash of clothes. I toss shorts around and give the ladies T-shirts. “Every one of you is going to the hospital,” Dr. Mason orders. I nod, letting everyone know to follow his instruction.

I have the guards fill in. “~Freya, Kevin. I need you to take the northwestern border. Finn, head over to the midwestern border to take over for Bruno~.”

“Wait.” Kya looks around at the border. “Damon. Do you smell that?”

Damon walks over to where Kya is standing. He growls deep in his chest, his power seeping out of him in thick waves. His power has got to be double what it was yesterday. “Son of a bitch.” He shifts and rushes through the trees.

I follow behind to see what he’s chasing. After about a mile past the border, we stop near a set of tire tracks. He shifts, then faces me with his jaw and fists clenched. “What is it?”

He’s barely holding on to his anger as he replies. “It was Owen.”